Official: Former Florida coach Jim McElwain joins Michigan staff

Jim McElwain was fired midway through his third year at Florida. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Jim McElwain is back in the college coaching game. He’s joined the staff at Michigan.

After McElwain previously informed ESPN of the news, Michigan confirmed Tuesday it has added McElwain as wide receivers coach.

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“I am excited to work with this offensive staff and Coach Harbaugh,” McElwain said. “There are a lot of great offensive minds in that coaching room and I look forward to learning from them.”

The former Florida coach “mutually” parted ways with the school in the middle of the 2017 season. The decision to make a coaching change came after McElwain had said threats had been made towards the program but the school said McElwain didn’t provide any details on his reference.

McElwain’s tenure ended with a 22-12 record at Florida.

He came to the Gators after serving as Colorado State’s head coach. He got the gig with the Rams after serving as the offensive coordinator at Alabama under Nick Saban. Perhaps ironically, offensive struggles helped lead to McElwain’s downfall. If the Gators had a good offense — and found a solution at quarterback — he would have lost fewer games as the team’s head coach.

McElwain’s hire comes after another former college football head coach departed Michigan’s staff. Former Central Michigan coach and Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos signed on to be the Wolverines’ WR coach for the 2018 season but left not long after his hire to be Alabama’s quarterbacks coach.